George Walker Herbert Bush (1924–), son of a senator and representative of the WASP elite, graduated from Yale University before serving as a navy fighter pilot in the Second World War. After the war, he followed the westward shift in American society migrating to Texas and heading an oil-drilling firm. In 1966 he was elected to the first of two terms as a Republican member of Congress. He would later become ambassador to the United Nations (1971–3), chairperson of the Republican National Committee (1973–4) and director of the CIA (1976–7). After losing the 1980 Republican presidential nomination to Ronald Reagan, Bush served as his vice-president (1981–9).

In 1988 Bush and running-mate Dan Quayle defeated Michael Dukakis in the presidential election. Faced with escalating budget deficits, he abandoned his electoral pledge of “read my lips: no new taxes,” and accepted a tax package that was designed to reduce the deficit but largely failed to do so as recession and an anemic recovery combined to produce the lowest growth rate since the Great Depression.

In foreign affairs, he ordered an invasion of Panama (1989) to depose Manuel Noriega, and in 1990 he committed the US to the reversal of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, which was achieved (1991) in the Persian Gulf War. Bush also signed nucleardisarmament agreements with the Soviet Union and Russia that called for substantial cuts in nuclear arms and the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico. In 1992 he was defeated by Democrat Bill Clinton.

Barbara Bush (1925–) was generally considered a mild-mannered, supportive First Lady, with the exception of her outburst against Geraldine Ferraro, Dukakis’ runningmate.

Her role as selfeffacing “helpmate” redounded to her benefit when contrasted with the garish flamboyance of Nancy Reagan, who preceded her, and the more politically charged Hillary Clinton, who followed.

The Bush’s eldest son, George Walker Bush (1946–), followed his father to Yale and also worked briefly in the oil industry (though with less success). As managing partner (1989–94) of the Texas Rangers baseball team, he gained public attention that would facilitate his election in 1994 as Governor of Texas, where he has set a record for the number of executions carried out. Capturing the Republican’s 2000 presidential nomination, he set the early pace following his refusal to accept public money to finance his campaign, thus allowing him to get around limits placed on private donations. Widely considered a moderate in spite of his position on capital punishment (at least until the John McCain insurgency pushed him rightward politically), he initially reaped the benefit of the backlash against right-wing Republicans who led the protracted struggle to impeach President Clinton. Another son of the former president, Jeb, currently serves as Governor of Florida.